


Not So Star-Crossed

by MindscapeWish



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Birthday oneshot, F/F, Gen, MC - Freeform, Original Character(s), mermaid au, no canon Arcana characters in this, sub-AU of an AU, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25960921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindscapeWish/pseuds/MindscapeWish
Summary: An AU within an AU in which tragedies never happened, a childhood friendship formed, and Nirah and Ephyra meet again upon a lucky day when the sun is shining.Or, a retold version of crymaticartwork's Mermaid AU.
Relationships: Nirah & Ephyra, minor Nirah/Ephyra





	Not So Star-Crossed

Ephyra took in a deep, chilling breath of air and closed her eyes against the blinding sun. Her dark hair pooled around her in the water like a halo and the ocean breeze on her front felt colder than usual. Summer must be starting its descent into fall.

Laying up here on the surface sunbathing was calming. Air in her lungs had been very difficult to get used to when she first started doing this as a young child, but it’s been so long that she simply got used to the transition.

She had been up here more times than she could count, which went against every single law in the mer-community. Thank god that Ephyra was on the outskirts of the city where most never ventured. She wouldn’t give up her nightly stargazing for anything.

Ephyra’s father was the first one to bring her up here. It was by complete accident, or rather an escape plan, in which Ephyra followed him up to the surface where he did his work even though he forbade it. She became so fixated on the little bright lights in the sky that he could not stop her-- whether she was safe and with him, or at risk and all alone, she would go up there. Ephyra was very sneaky and no type of limit would hold her off for long.

Ephyra smiled softly to herself at her father’s memory. He was a good man. He was a good man who had been in the right place at the wrong time. Sailors were rarely merciful. The memories twinged the woman’s heart still, but since the accident, she had slowly made peace with it.

Ephyra opened her eyes. Sun-shimmering waves on the surface bobbed her along rhythmically. The ocean was fairly calm today. It was the perfect day for relaxing. Several silent minutes passed by, the buzzing in her body ebbing away and leaving her calm.

Then something beneath the surface disturbed it.

Ephyra’s head snapped to the side and she quickly dove back under the water. In the same motion that she propelled herself down with a flick of her tail, a medium-sized fish ran smack dab into her face.

“Ow! What the hell?” Ephyra recoiled, hands flying up. Blood started to drift from her nose into the rest of the water and she cupped it, feeling the tiny residual teeth marks.

Whatever was attacking her continued, darting around her in blinding circles. It pulled at her hair and nipped at her shoulders, making Ephyra curl up in alarm.

“ _ ONDVAATBO!” _ came a shriek. Ephyra could see a flash of white and peach from between her forearms. “Stop it! You  _ never _ attack people!” It was an almost familiar voice.

The flash of color, when Ephyra slowly unwound herself, turned out to be a very tall woman with white, flowing hair and a peach colored tail. Gold jewellery adorned her wrists and she wore a red wrap around her chest. The woman was yanking on a little piranha’s fins, drilling into him like there was no tomorrow.

She  _ looked _ really familiar too. Ephyra didn’t know how or why, but she could taste nostalgia in the back of her throat as the woman scolded her fish in a clean accent different from Ephyra’s. She swore she was from royalty or something because no one around there ever spoke so sophisticatedly as her.

“I am very sorry about him,” she said, looking up at Ephyra with shockingly golden eyes. They widened a little bit in near recognition, but Ephyra didn’t realize. “Ondbo gets very excited when he sees other people. He’s only a baby, so I still have to train it out of him.” She gave the little squirming piranha a tug on the tail fin to keep him close to her.

“Oh, it’s--”

“Oh my word, you’re hurt!” The woman shot forward in alarm to see the damage her companion had done. “I am ever so sorry, I did not know he bit you! Are you alright? Do you need medical attention?”

Ephyra put some distance between them and shook her head, pinching her nose. “No, no, I’m fine. It’ll stop soon. The bites aren’t deep either, so it’s not that bad.”

The woman sighed in relief and smiled. Ephyra didn’t know why her heart gave a little flutter, but it did. Her stomach was light and tingly too, like she had swallowed too much air to keep herself buoyant.

“If you are positive, I will believe you.” The woman pulled away and gave her companion a disappointed look with a sigh. “This is the last time I am ever letting you out without the leash.”

The piranha-- Ondbo-- blew out several bubbles in a fit of rebellion. His eyes couldn’t squint because fish didn’t have eyelids, but Ephyra could tell Ondbo was giving his owner attitude. It was the signature bubbly-huff of a substituted glare that gave it away.

“Don’t give me that tone.” The woman rolled her eyes. “If you cannot be around the public without being a hazard, then it’s back to the seaweed leash for you.”

Ephyra couldn’t help but giggle. This was the first time she’d ever heard of a seaweed leash before, but honestly, it sounded pretty innovative. “I’m sure after that scolding, he’ll think twice before rushing out again.”

The woman gave a hearty laugh that made blood rush to Ephyra’s cheeks. Ephyra was sure it was from the nose pain. “He has done this several times, I’m afraid. This has been the last straw, especially since this is the first time he has hurt someone this bad before.”

“I see.” Ephyra nodded once. She looked to the side and up towards the surface, seeing the reflection of a flying seagull. The bright sun filtering through the water made her sneeze, then groan out of achy pain.

The silence between them was a little awkward, but not awful.

The woman was about to say something when Ephyra asked, “So, what brings you up to the surface? No one ever comes up here.” She looked over at her and smirked, mismatched eyes checking out the expensive jewellery. “Especially for a royal.”

Her new friend’s expression wilted a little and she sighed. “What gave it away?”

“Lavish pet names, the poshness, and the bracelets.” Ephyra’s chest filled with pride. “It’s not hard to connect the dots, but I’m very surprised you of all people would be up here. What tribe are you from?” There was no point to giving the other special treatment just because of her status, especially since they met with an unpleasurable incident.

“The D’ov tribe.”

Instant recognition hit Ephyra straight in the face. Her eyes shot straight wide, jaw dropping. This was why she knew her! They had been the best of friends when they were young!

“Nirah?!”

Nirah’s features scrunched in confusion, but quickly wiped to replace itself with an expression replicating Ephyra’s in recognition. The look of shock was amusing on such a schooled, stoic face. “Ephyra?!”

They launched themselves at each other in a tight, almost desperate hug. Their arms squeezed each other tight, tails twining together in equal measure.

“Oh my god, it’s really you! I had a feeling but I didn’t realize it was you!” Ephyra blurted, only to earn a teary-eyed laugh from Nirah.

“It’s been so long! Oh my, you grew up so much,” Nirah gasped, pulling away to look at Ephyra fully.

“Me? Look at you! You’re fucking  _ gorgeous _ !” Oh god, Ephyra had the hots for her  _ childhood best friend. _ This was such a bad turn of events, but she couldn’t even be mad.

Nirah gave a little blush and waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you, dear. But how have you been? No wonder this stranger’s breaking all the rules, it’s you! I’d expect nothing less.”

Ephyra’s heart soared and she giggled, tail curling up beneath her. “Yeah, it’s me. I’ve been okay! I took over my dad’s studies and help Mom around the house. I have a job collecting shells and mollusks for Shelly’s now, so I’m not completely a lazy bum.”

“Shelly’s?” Nirah groaned. “God, I’ve been craving their food for so long. Mother told me I couldn’t move back here just to eat there, but I tried.”

“I mean… I would too if I were you.” Ephyra smiled. 

She hadn’t seen Nirah in over ten years, so a lot had changed, but at the same time… Nothing did. They picked things back up just like that, as if it had only been ten days.

“I have missed you so much,” Nirah continued on and reached for Ephyra’s hands. They clasped together, soft and perfect like they were made for each other. “We  _ must _ catch up.”

“Don’t you have work to do?” By now Nirah had to have been a working princess with a lot on her plate. Ephyra hadn’t heard of the D’ov tribe’s leader passing away so not all of the work was put onto Nirah, but no doubt there was pressure.

Nirah waved her hand again and pulled Ephyra out, swimming away from the surface with Ondbo at her side. “Nothing that cannot be put off for a little while. Let’s get something to eat!”

Ephyra didn’t have time to protest, or even ask why Nirah was in this part of the ocean in general. She let herself be pulled along, body warm and stomach full of butterflies.

Nirah continued to talk, rambling so excitedly about how they could go into the main city and do all the things they used to, like hide behind bins and jump out at people, or play chase with the seahorses. She reminisced about all the places to eat at, the sights, the plaza.

Ephyra didn’t do one thing to stop her. It was as if every single word Nirah said sent her falling even more and more. She couldn’t stop herself from careening down that hill. 

Nirah’s hair flowed behind her and almost seemed silver in the sun, her peach tail nearly red. Every laugh bubbling and twitch of her finned ears had Ephyra smile after her.

Suddenly, the stars didn’t seem so interesting anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday oneshot for crymaticartwork on Instagram! Nirah and Ephyra originally aren't gay for each other but while writing I felt hella gay, so Ephyra had to as well. It's just how things go.
> 
> If you're reading this and you liked it, please go check out crymaticartwork's comics on their account! They produce a lot of Nirah, in and out of the Mermaid AU. We plan to write/draw more for our girls in the future!
> 
> Also, please consider checking out my tumblr (mindscapewish-writes) and twitter (MindscapeWish)! On tumblr I post all my stories, updates, and some other fandom content too. Feel free to send in requests, questions, comments, whatever fits your fancy.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
